‘Confidence and poise’ help Eagles upset state-ranked Skyline

Visiting Pisgah opened up a 15-point halftime lead before answering every Skyline attempt to rally in the second half on the way to an 82-61 win over the Class 1A No. 6-ranked Vikings.

“We’ve been struggling a little bit with confidence and poise, but we showed both. I think we had a few moments of panic, but overall we played really well,” Ellison said.  “(Skyline) made some runs. Ten games ago, we may have panicked and let it turn into a close game. They were making runs and making plays, but we managed to answer.”

Pisgah (10-9), which lost at Skyline 73-63 in the Jackson County Tournament semifinals 11 days earlier, shot 41% from the field (26-of-62) and connected on 14 3-pointers — Skyline made just six — while also out-rebounding the Vikings 40-24. The Eagles also grabbed 16 offensive rebounds to Skyline’s nine.

The loss was the just the third on its home court this season for Skyline (20-8), which had won eight of its last nine games prior to Tuesday night. The Vikings made 23-of-55 shot attempts (42%) but were just 9-of-19 at the free-throw line while also committing 13 turnovers.

Jakob Kirby finished with 20 points and two assists for Pisgah while Caleb Jenkins swished 4-of-5 3-pointers and closed with 18 points, three rebounds and two assists. Legion McCrary totaled 17 points, four assists and two steals for the Eagles and Brodie Overdear just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds while Holcomb tallied five points and six rebounds, Jack Smalley had four points and two assists, Luke Gilbert had three points and seven rebounds, Levi Arnold had three points and Jett Jeffery had seven rebounds and three steals.

Bryant Kennamer scored 18 points, Chase Bickers totaled 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals and Will Avans tallied 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists for Skyline. The Vikings also got seven points, two assists and three steals from Dillon Stephens, six points and five rebounds from Jayten Prince and two points from Sam Utter.

Pisgah led 18-16 after one quarter before closing the second quarter on an 18-5 scoring run to build a 44-29 halftime advantage. Jenkins started the run with back-to-back 3-pointers and also converted a 3-point play in between 3-pointers from Gilbert and Holcomb, who swished a trey from the left wing with 4.2 seconds left until intermission.

The Eagles pushed their lead to 52-32 in the first three minutes of the third quarter after Kirby’s 3-pointer. Skyline cut Pisgah’s lead to 14 points on several occasions in the second half, but the Eagles responded with key baskets each time to stymie every Viking comeback attempt.

“We’re having to rely on a lot of young guys and we’re kind of learning how to play the game,” Ellison said. “Slowly but surely, we’re grasping the way the game is played. (This win is) strides in the right direction for sure.”